The goal of our project is to protect & restore the Moorhead & Breckenridge, MN Public water supply. This will be achieved by protecting the Buffalo & Wahpeton Buried Aquifer's and to protect & restore the surface water's that enter the Red River of the North. According to the 2019 MPCA Report of the Red River of the North, the tributaries in the Red River Basin are delivering too much sediment and nutrients to the Red River.
Rice Creek WD proposes completion of three projects during this WBIF cycle: 1) Clearwater Creek Stabilization Scoping: The portion of the Main Trunk of Anoka Washington Judicial Ditch 3 (AWJD3, also known as Clearwater Creek) downstream of I-35E has a steep grade with heavily scoured and sloughing banks due to high peak flows and channel velocities and unstable sandy soils.
The Cannon River and its subwatersheds are priority resources in multiple local and regional plans including the NCRWMO Watershed Plan, Cannon River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan and the Dakota County Groundwater Plan. Agricultural BMPs, both structural and non-structural, are targeted based upon cost/benefit. The outreach, planning, and feasibility activities will further the goals of the Plans listed above.
We will carry out activities selected by the Rum River metro watershed convene group including the Upper and Lower Rum River Watershed Management Organizations, Anoka Conservation District, and a city representative.
The proposed project will provide cost share funding and technical assistance for landowners to design and implement medium-sized water quality BMPs. The installation of these projects will have measurable outcomes that will benefit water quality. BMPs could include gully stabilizations, infiltration basins, bioretention basins, hydrodynamic separators, other stormwater runoff controls and streambank and shoreline protections.
The Vermillion River and its subwatersheds are priority resources in local and regional plans including the Vermillion River Watershed Management Plan and the Dakota County Groundwater Plan. Prioritized agricultural BMPs and nitrate reduction BMPs, a subwatershed analysis, and project development of irrigation and groundwater protection practices will further the goals of the plans above.
Implementation of Vadnais Lake Area WMO (VLAWMO)'s existing Landscape Level 2 Grant Program to install at least 1 BMP project between 2023-2025 to make progress on water quality impairments within four priority subwatersheds: Lambert Creek, Goose, Birch, and Gilfillan-Tamarack-Black-Wilkinson-Amelia. Eligible BMPs include project types identified in the Board-approved Landscape Level 2 Grant Policy. The anticipated outcome is a reduction in phosphorus by at least 0.3 pounds annually. This activity will also result in strengthened partnerships with Vadnais Lake Area WPA communities.
The Hardwood Creek Livestock Waste Storage Facility project proposes the installation of a waste storage facility on a farm located in Hugo, consistent with Rice Creek Watershed District's current efforts to encourage conservation practices in rural and agricultural areas to improve water quality in the District. The facility would be constructed off of an existing cattle barn to temporarily store manure from the cattle until manure can be appropriately applied to farm fields.
